Two Sides of the Heart
by Velace
Summary: The relationship between Emma Swan and Regina Mills was complicated to everyone but them. Takes place at the end of Season Two, aboard the Jolly Roger.
1. Common Ground

**Insert annoyingly stupid disclaimer about rights here.**

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When Emma and Regina fought, they entered a world of their own and everything around them would fade. They saw each other, but no one else. Heard every word from the others mouth, yet were deaf to their surroundings. Venom flowed from their lips with practiced ease and the idea of restraint became a foreign concept to them. No feeling existed in those moments, beyond their shared hatred for one another.

Even in the love of their son, they remained on opposite sides. Regina was the mother that valued manners, the strict disciplinary who taught their son that knowledge was important. Emma is the mother who sometimes swears in his presence, someone who makes up for the fact she had to grow up so fast, by acting like a child as an adult. She's intelligent, but she hides it. Instead, she teaches him the merit in having friends, family and most of all, love.

However, where they clash together with their styles of parenting, therein lies their common ground. The belief that above all else, Henry is what matters most. Neither Regina nor Emma question each others love for him, knowing that they would both do anything to assure his happiness.

In the end, he is the reason they no longer fight.

It was on their way to Neverland that Emma sensed the beginning of change in their relationship. They spent more of their time together, than they spent apart. Maybe it was because Henry was their son, or maybe it's because everyone else aboard the Jolly Roger was incapable of providing the comfort that they easily found in each other.

When it came to sleeping arrangements, by some unspoken agreement they ended up sharing. Emma ignored the questions she received, while Regina ignored the suspicious looks thrown her way. They developed a routine around one another, when Regina lay on her bed to read, Emma lay on her own and listened to music. When it was time to eat, they gathered their meal and went above deck to eat together and away from the rest. Neither of them bothered speaking to anyone, but eventually, they began to talk to each other.

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**Only you can be the aching in my heart.**

**My enemy, the only animal I couldn't fight.**

**You hold me in the dark when storms arrive.**

**Only you..**

* * *

Their first conversation wasn't until the second week into their journey. Emma was tired and in the process of getting ready for bed when the feeling hit her, Regina needed her and she didn't hesitate to abandon her preparations to go in search of the woman.

Finding Regina wasn't difficult, Emma knew she hadn't been below deck yet. Drawn to the starboard side of the ship, she found Regina looking out over the vast ocean that surrounded them on all sides, arms wrapped in a vice-like grip around her torso. It wasn't a cold night, it worried Emma.

As she got closer, she noticed the trail of tears that gleamed in the moonlight marring Regina's cheeks. If it hadn't been such an incredibly painful thing to see, Emma would have thought the sight to be beautiful. Quietly, she approached and came to stand beside Regina. She said nothing, offered no comfort other than the one her presence provided. Emma would wait; if Regina needed anything more from her, it would be freely given, but she would not force anything on her.

Close to an hour had passed before Regina acknowledged her presence, it was somewhat of surprise to find a hand slipping into her own, but it wasn't unwelcome. Emma understood the need for physical contact when you were upset, the idea that someone thought you important enough to comfort you helped keep a person grounded.

"I miss him." Not having spoken to each other in over a week, hearing Regina speak soothed her, but it also tore apart the wall she'd constructed to hide behind.

Emma closed her eyes as her tears fell, her reply barely a whisper. "Me too." But it seemed to be enough, enough to remove whatever that last barrier between them was and she found herself pulled into a warm embrace. Even as the tears continued to fall, when a head dropped to rest against her shoulder, Emma smiled and placed her arms around Regina's waist. Usually, she wasn't much of a hugger, but with Regina pressed against her, she couldn't bring herself to care enough to protest.

"Emma, I came to say goodnight but you weren't in your r... Oh." Emma felt Regina tense in her arms, but rather than release her, Emma rubbed her palm in circles against Regina's back.

Once Regina relaxed back into the embrace, Emma spoke as she remained turned away from Snow. "Goodnight, mother."

Unfortunately, neither of her parents knew how to take a hint. While it wasn't surprising that this time was no different, it was still annoying. "What's going on?"

Another smile curled Emma's lips as Regina's growl vibrated against her neck. "Go away, Snow."

"No, I won't. You two have been behaving strangely since we left Storybrooke, you're not the only ones affected by Henry being taken!"

A warning bell went off inside Emma's head when she felt a tingling against her back, the realisation that it was exactly where Regina's hand rested caused her to pull back from the embrace. Emma held Regina with one arm still around her waist and raised the other, pressing a palm against Regina's cheek, her suspicion confirmed by the purple swirling around brown eyes. "Don't." It was said with understanding, a plea not a command.

When natural colour returned to Regina's eyes, Emma slipped the hand from her cheek, brushing it lightly over a shoulder and down her arm before taking Regina's hand and pulling her towards the stairs leading below deck. As they passed Snow, Emma paused and offered her suggestion. "Perhaps you should find someone to talk to about how the loss of our son affects you, because neither of us gives a shit."

Ignoring the shocked expression, Emma brushed past her and lead Regina back to their cabin.

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**A/N: The muse hit a snag writing my other story, but I've wanted to write something with them on the ship since the ending of Season Two and this is what came to mind. Does it seem like something you guys would be interested in? I'd be up for adding to it when the muse needs a break from LWC.**


	2. Apathetic Empathy

**When food is gone, you are my daily meal.**  
**When friends are gone, I know my Saviour's love is real.**  
**You know it's real.**

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When they reached their cabin, Emma released Regina's hand and allowed her to go in ahead of her. Upon closing the door behind them, she turned around to find Regina standing in the middle of the room, staring at the floor.

Placing a hand on Regina's shoulder, Emma turned her slowly. "What's wrong?" When all she received in response was the shake of a head, Emma pressed a finger under her chin and tilted Regina's head until their gazes met.

The lost expression on Regina's face made her heart clench and a sudden urge to kiss away the look made Emma realise she'd been staring at those unusually plump, red lips. As her flight instinct kicked in, she partially gave in by dropping the hand that had remained beneath Regina's chin. "You know if you want something, all you have to do is ask?" The embarrassed flush that coloured Regina's cheeks made her discomfort asking Emma for anything, glaringly obvious. "Or demand, if that's easier for you."

When Regina looked over her shoulder, Emma turned and followed the direction of her gaze to Emma's bed.

_She wants to share my bed?_

Emma curiously returned her attention to Regina, only to find that her gaze had moved to the other side of the room where her own bed sat. It took Emma a moment before the pieces clicked and when she realised what Regina wanted, a sinking feeling entered the pit of her stomach because what she wanted wasn't possible. "Oh.." When Regina frowned, she knew she'd failed to hide the disappointment in her tone. "I'm not against the idea, but they're bolted to the floor."

Completely missing the gesture Regina made behind her back, the smell of apples and cinnamon suddenly surrounding her made Emma turn once more. Now instead of two beds, there was a single, queen sized one. "Oh right.. Magic." Rolling her eyes at Regina's smirk, she decided to ignore the building tension in the room and teased her. "If we're going to share that, I think we could do with a little more blue in our freakishly purple bed."

Regina moved over to the bed and pulled back the duvet to reveal midnight blue sheets, her eyebrow raised with a smirk still on her lips.

Emma raised her hands in mock surrender, "I hastily retract my comment." Grinning, she adds. "I'm also kinda touched you remembered something as insignificant as my favourite colour."

Regina shrugged. "It's easier to hold a grudge with a good memory."

Emma stripped down to her boy-shorts and tank, slipping into bed as Regina rummaged through her clothes to find something to sleep in. While she would have prefered to ease into the conversation, or avoid it all together, she knew eventually they'd need to speak about what happened earlier with Snow. "Speaking of mothers.."

"I don't remember mentioning anyones mother." Regina rolled her eyes and sighed when Emma just stared at her. "Must we?"

Emma gave her look that said **we must** and started talking before Regina dismissed her. "I just wanted you to know that I don't agree with anything she's done, past or present. What she did, it was.. wrong. Giving you hope like that, manipulating you. It was a really shitty fucking thing to do."

"Yes well, it's done and while I appreciate the support, it doesn't change what happened."

"No, I know it's just.." Emma winced at the only phrase she could think of to continue the conversation. "I know she asked you to kill her and I guess.. tonight she reminded me of how selfish she can be."

Regina didn't seem phased by her word choice in the least as she made her way back to bed and slipped in beside Emma. "She's just afraid I cast some sort of spell on you."

"Oh please, she was being her typical control freak self. She has to know about everything going on around her so she can figure out how it effects her, because god forbid someone else having feelings and stealing her spotlight."

Regina's throaty laugh greeted the end of her rant. "Your genetics are showing."

Thrown by the sound and not understanding the comment in the least, Emma turns her head sharply and blinks in confusion at her. "Huh?"

"You're being judgmental, dear." When Emma tried to respond, Regina pressed a finger to her lips and explained. "She's your mother, she worries about you. As much as it pains me to say, she's also the grandmother of our son. We're all emotional and a little selfish right now." Removing the finger, she brushed a stray blonde curl from where it had fallen across Emma's amusingly surprised face.

Although she wanted to continue venting her frustration, the shock from hearing Regina voluntarily choosing to defend her mother completely overshadowed the desire and she couldn't help expressing such. "Wow, did you just side with my mother?"

Regina snorts at the absurdity of the idea. "No, in fact I agree with everything you said. I'm simply being rational and pointing out the facts to you. As your mother and my most favourite of victims, she has every right to be suspicious and concerned when she discovers the Evil Queen wrapped in the arms of her daughter."

Now that her irritation had passed and she could think properly, Emma knew Regina was right. While she still meant what she said, she couldn't help the feeling that maybe she shouldn't have assumed Regina felt the same. "So.. you think I was wrong to say what I did?"

Hearing Emma doubt herself, Regina was quick to reassure her. "No, you were right- I don't care about her feelings and the choice of whether you do, is entirely yours." When Emma turned on her side and they came face to face, Regina smiled and continued her thought. "If you're going to be upset with her, then let it be for the right reason and not because your anger hinders your empathy."

"The right reason being.." She pursed her lips in thought. ".. her horrendously awful timing?"

"Exactly." Suppressing a yawn, Regina turned to her other side and presented her back to Emma. "Now, are we going to sleep or would you like to broach another painful subject?"

"Uh no, I think that's enough for one night."

"Good, now shut up and hold me." It sounded more like a plea than a command, but Emma chose to feign ignorance.

Chuckling, she shifted closer and molded herself against Regina's back as she draped an arm across her hip. "There's the demand I was waiting for." Smiling when Regina lifted her head briefly to pull her other arm into the crook of her neck

Closing her eyes, Regina entwined her fingers with the ones resting against her stomach. "That's half of it covered, try working on the shutting up now."

The squeeze of her hand was Emma's only response as Regina fell to sleep in the welcome embrace of the Saviour.

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**A/N: Since the response to chapter one was so nice, I figured I could post this now instead of waiting a few days. Thank you for all the reviews/favs and follows, you're all so easily ple.. uh, great. You're all great! ;)**

**A friend of mine had just finished reading this for me, the first thing she said was. "Having Regina do that must have been painful for you." And yes, yes it damn well was. Apparently my distaste for the annoying, self-righteous prat that is Snow White doesn't prevent my muse from doing something as ridiculous as defending her, using Regina of all people! I think I need a new muse, traitorous little shit. **


	3. Rising Conflict

In the twenty-nine years of her life, Emma has always hated mornings. Not once, has she ever denied that she would love mornings, if they happened around noon. It was no surprise to anyone who knew her, that the second she awoke, she greeted the day with a passionate snarl and hissed at life, like she was some sort of vampire who'd been forced out into the sunlight. At one point during their journey, Regina had in fact made that comparison.

This morning, as Emma was pulled from the blissful clutches of her subconscious, she did not snarl, nor did she hiss. As she slept peacefully throughout the night, a change had occurred. Where she had fallen asleep with her arms wrapped around the firm body of her sleeping companion, she awoke to find said companion hunched beneath the blankets with her head resting on Emma's torso and an arm wrapped securely around her waist.

So it was to her great displeasure that her mother chose this moment to barge into their room without so much as knocking, and completely ruined any chance of her enjoying the warmth that such a sight instilled within her.

Were Emma not angry, the shocked and somewhat confused expression on her mothers face would have been comical. Unfortunately, even that was ruined when the expression turned into something likely meant to instill guilt, but only served to anger Emma even more. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?"

When Emma opened her mouth to deliver what would likely be a hurtful retort, Regina nuzzled into her stomach and effectively short-circuited her brain.

Rather than attempting to jump-start her thoughts, she chose to throw an arm over her eyes, sigh dramatically and hope Snow would just leave.

Luck apparently wasn't on her side, because instead of taking the gesture for what it was, Snow seemed to think she was given permission to continue. "Are either of you going to explain this?"

Emma's stomach jumped as she suppressed the snort when Regina growled out a "No." and pulled the bed-spread over her head. After a torturous few minutes, Snow seemed to realise that Emma had no intention of responding and finally stormed out of the room in a huff.

Her relief was short-lived when Charming stuck his head in the room. "Emma, why is your mo..." His eyes widened and he blushed before yanking his head back out of the room, his voice slightly muffled behind the door. "Nevermind. I'll uh.. try to calm her down, you two take your time."

At the noticable shake of their bodies, Emma lifted the blanket covering Regina and raised an eyebrow. When Regina looked up at her, brown eyes were brimming with amusement. "That wasn't funny."

Uncurling her body, Regina slid up the side of Emma with a grin and pecked her cheek. Throwing off the blankets she tossed a "Yes it was." over her shoulder and left the bed.

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When they were appropriately attired, Emma and Regina made their way toward the kitchen, halting outside the door as they heard Charming's voice from inside. "You have no idea what they were doing, do you?"

"It's rather obvious, David. They were in bed together! A bed that, might I remind you, didn't even exist before last night! That in there looked a lot more than just two people sharing a bed." The screeching quality of Snow's voice seemed to increase with each syllable, it made Emma's head throb with sympathy for her father.

"So you just assume they're having sex?" Emma sighed and nodded her head towards the stairs, gesturing for Regina to go ahead while she took care of her parents.

Regina gave her hip a sympathetic squeeze before brushing past. Deciding to wait awhile longer, Emma leaned against the wall and continued to listen to them talk. "Last night I found them hugging each other! You wouldn't believe what Emma said to me."

"Let me guess, something about minding your own business?" Almost giving herself away by laughing, Emma bit her lip and fist pumped the air instead. It was nice to know that at least one of her parents wasn't overreacting to.. she had no idea what. The relationship between her and Regina had changed, but it's not like either of them were doing anything wrong.

"Charming!"

"What? She's a grown woman, Snow. Even if you're right and they are doing... that, she's capable of making her own decisions." The sound of his exasperation caused Emma to smile and she chose then to save him and make her presence known.

Pushing open the door, she immediately crossed the room to her father and kissed him on the cheek, then expressed her gratitude. "Thank you, Dad." She completely ignored Snow as she set about preparing breakfast for herself and Regina.

She grimaced at the pot of warm porridge on the stove, wondering if they'd make port any time soon to re-supply, she was getting tired of slop for every meal.

From the corner of her eye, Emma could see her mother open her mouth every once in a while and wisely close it seconds later as she seemed to think better of voicing her thoughts.

Once she had finished cutting the fruit she knew Regina would appreciate and placed it on the serving tray with their bowls of porridge, David stopped her with a hand on her arm and picked up the tray himself. "Grab the coffee, I'll bring this up for you."

Sighing, Emma couldn't ignore the slight pang of guilt she felt about what this might be doing to her parents. While she was grateful for his support, she didn't really want them fighting each other over it. that talk between mother and daughter would have to happen sooner, and not later.

For now though, Regina was waiting for her.

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**A/N: Why can't I stop writing this?! Now I'm just NEGLECTING LWC.. I'm going to go and get a life for a bit, I refuse to be a recluse who stays inside all day to write fanfiction and talk to my cats.. who are absolutely GORGEOUS by the way.**


	4. Forced Confrontation

**I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one.**

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Emma lay in bed beside Regina, propped up on her elbow, examining Regina's profile and admiring the incredibly sexy glasses the brunette wore while she read.

Every so often Regina would sigh, unable to ignore the fact she was being studied; like she was some sort of new species of bacteria beneath the lens of a microscope. Whenever she allowed her attention to drift from her book to the woman responsible for her increasing agitation, she was met with Emma's grinning face.

After an hour of being stared at, Regina decided she'd put up with it long enough and flicked her wrist toward the blonde.

xxx

Not more than two seconds after seeing the faint purple glow of Regina's magic, Emma found herself sitting on the floor of her parents bedroom and being stared at with matching expressions of bemusement.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she crossed her legs and remained on the floor.

Glancing between mother and father, she offered the only explanation that came to mind with an impish grin. "I think the Queen got tired of my procrastinating."

Snow narrowed her eyes, while Charming raised an eyebrow curiously. "I don't want what we.. Regina and I, are doing to come between the two of you. After the thing in the kitchen, I realised I really do need to talk to you both, otherwise.. Well." She shrugged helplessly. "You shouldn't be fighting because of us."

When neither of them spoke, she sighed. "Look, I have no idea what to tell either of you, so maybe just.. ask? What do you want to know?"

Considering what she'd overheard this morning, she had expected the question from Snow, though she did find it a little disconcerting that it would be her first. "Are you sleeping together?"

"In the sense that we share a bed, yes. We're.. I don't know. We've grown closer since.. since Henry. It's complicated, but we're not.." Apparently expecting it, didn't make answering any easier.

Emma huffed. "We're not having sex, we're just friends. We've been helping each other deal with everything."

"Why her?" This one from her father, was asked with nothing more than curiosity, unlike the venom that she was sure would have laced the tone of her mother.

Rather than answer, she asked a question of her own. "Why not her?"

"She's the Evil Queen." Snow said it as though it was obvious, like the reason should be sufficient and there wasn't a need for anything more. She didn't understand, whether it was because she couldn't or simply didn't want to, Emma wasn't sure.

Shrugging, Emma countered. "Not to me, she isn't."

"She's the reason you grew up without us." Snow was practically pleading with her now, which Emma thought was completely ridiculous. How is it that her mother can sit here and condemn the woman who is trying so hard to change, when she herself manipulated that same woman into killing her own mother.

Emma frowned but she knew that conversation would have to wait until later, so she shook her head and said her piece. "She didn't put me in the wardrobe."

Sensing the futility of arguing the point, Snow made a half-hearted attempt to give reason for their actions all those years ago. "We did it to save you."

_Here we go._

Emma rolled her eyes. "No, you did it so I would save you and everyone else. You had no idea what would happen when you decided to send me off to a land you knew nothing about."

She wasn't upset, there was a lot that had happened in her life that they were both still ignorant of, but that was her own fault. She hadn't offered them any details, even though they had asked, countless times. Now she would lay it out for them, she would allow them their talk. "When I ended up on the side of that highway, I could have starved to death before anyone found me." She could see the protest coming a mile away, so she raised her hand before Snow bothered.

"When I was twelve, I was in a car accident." She lifted up her beater, displaying the surgical scar across her ribs. "We were hit side on, when my ribs broke from the force of the impact, one of them punctured my lung and I almost drowned in my own blood."

Seeing the pained look on Snow's face, she tried to lighten the mood with a quip. "Good thing a person can live with one, huh." And regretted it almost immediately as the pain there seemed to double.

She sighed. "Look, the point was there was a good possibility that I would die long before my twenty-eighth birthday. Your cursed lives weren't so bad, at least you were safe. You believed that Gold was telling you the truth, which solidified your decision to send me away so that I could come back and save you. I understand why and I've long since forgiven you both for it."

"Regina has done some shitty things, even in this world.." She paused to look at her mother before she added. "But don't put even more blame on her for the things she had no control over."

When a few minutes passed in silence, Snow composed herself enough to ask. "And last night?"

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing where this conversation would lead. "We were having a moment, okay? You interrupted us, I'm not going to apologise for saying what I did. You don't.." Biting her lip, she blurted out the rest. "She understands, she knows what I'm going through."

"And you think we don't? We lost you remember?"

Emma sighed softly at the tears that fell from her mothers eyes, she combed through her thoughts for the right words, words that would make what she needed to say easier to hear, but they wouldn't come.

_Goddamn you, Regina. I needed more time for this._

"You didn't lose me." She feels like a coward as she lets her eyes close, her head drooping toward the floor. "You were cursed, you didn't even remember me. You knew me for all of five minutes before you put me in that wardrobe and forgot you even had a child."

She can hear her mothers sobs, the footsteps of her father as he gets up from his bed and goes to comfort his wife.

"You didn't have to agonize over whether I was still alive, if there was someone out there looking after me, caring about me, loving me."

Once she'd begun, it was as though she couldn't stop. "All you can offer me is pity, sympathy, maybe even some minor comfort in the form of well-meaning, but ultimately pointless platitudes. You don't understand, you don't feel this pain, this void. You have no idea how much I wish to be cursed, how I envy you those twenty-eight years you got to forget."

Raising her head and seeing that her mother wasn't in any state to continue the conversation, she stood from the floor and met her fathers gaze. "You want me to see her as the Evil Queen, but all I see.. all I have ever seen, is the mother of my son. A woman who would do anything to protect him, one who has put aside her differences to help me, to help us get him back." At the nod from Charming, she left the room and made her way back to her own.

xxx

Emma wasn't in the mood to talk about what happened, so when she re-entered their cabin, she ignored the concerned look from brown eyes and crawled back into bed. Humming her appreciation when, without word, Regina pressed against her back and lulled her to sleep with the warmth of her embrace.

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**A/N: Btw I like my muse again. Not because of this chapter, but the first draft of this chapter was extremely angry and.. well let's just say someone ended up on the wrong side of Emma's magic and it made me very happy. However, I felt that everyone needed to be at least on speaking terms with each other in order for them to actually save Henry so.. yeah. This is a more fitting, if not more depressing, chapter for the overall story.**


	5. Rude Awakening

**Warning: There still isn't any smut, don't say I didn't warn you.**

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There's a second where panic overwhelms you, when you wake so suddenly your mind isn't given the time to process anything beyond the fact you're awake and you have no idea why. You don't have a few minutes to lay there and wait for your head to clear as the fog from sleep lifts, there is no moan that slips from your lips as you stretch; your muscles waking with you and causing that rather pleasurable sensation throughout your body.

Even now as the long, slim fingers of her hand soothingly caressed through blonde curls of the head resting in her lap, the scream that had awoken Regina continued to haunt her thoughts.

When her ears had finally registered the sound that caused her sudden conciousness, Regina had bolted from the bed, a fireball ready in the palm of her hand. It was only after her vision adjusted to the dimness of the room, when her gaze landed upon the stricken, terror filled eyes of the blonde that it was extinguished. She knew her expression had immediately turned cold by the flicker of hurt that appeared in green eyes, but having been woken by what was apparently a simple nightmare caused an understandable amount of anger in her. The hurt however, was quickly replaced with relief as Regina slipped back into bed and encouraged Emma to lay back down. Regina wasn't about to let the minor inconvenience of interrupted sleep stop her from offering comfort to the woman, especially since her concern far out-weighed her anger.

At least an hour passed, their silence broken only by a variety of muted sounds from Emma as Regina continued to stroke fingers through her hair; a frustrated sigh, a hum of approval. She could swear she heard a moan every so often, but she couldn't be sure if she was imagining it and didn't really care either way. While her thoughts burned with questions, she was too distracted to focus on any one of them. It was taking a lot more effort out of her than she thought possible, resisting her body as it begged to be allowed to react to the nose and lips that pressed against her stomach. If something like this was to become a regular occurrence, she was going to need to find thicker clothes for sleeping in. Not exactly something she wanted to do, considering how hot it was at night already. The alternative would've been separating them once more, which she spent less than a second on contemplating before throwing that idea right out the figurative window of her mind.

Feeling eyes on her, Regina emerged from her thoughts and glanced down, smiling when she found Emma studying her face. Lifting her free hand, she brushed her fingers across pale skin and cupped her cheek. She wasn't sure why, there was no reason for it. No reason for her thumb to stroke so gently, so slowly across the cheekbone. No reason for the tip of her finger to lightly graze the earlobe. No reason, until Emma's eyes closed once more and absorbed the comforting warmth of the palm that rested upon her face. There was the reason, the only one that mattered; it soothed Emma and soothing Emma meant Regina felt useful. It didn't matter that her mother was dead, took her mind off the fact she was stuck on a boat with those she loathed to love, not that she'd ever admit the love part- to any of them. Her son could be anywhere in this god forsaken world, but even the pain from knowing there was the chance that they would be too late, even that dulled in comparison to this. Being valued for something, being needed, no, being wanted by someone.

It was somewhat of a surprise when she felt the light touch against her cheek, she hadn't realised she was crying until Emma mimicked her earlier gesture and swiped a thumb beneath her eye in a vain effort to stem the flow of tears. As it happens, the gesture reminded Regina that she needed, wanted Emma just as much as Emma did her and any chance she had of composing herself was lost.

"What's wrong?"

Raising a hand to her mouth, Regina shook her head. Everything was too much, the thoughts, the feelings, someone who cared and all this pain. She thought heartbreak hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain of feeling it mend bit by bit. Her own happiness was suffocating her, it needed to come out, too overwhelming, the heart had to go.

But suddenly Emma was there, here, everywhere. Hands were clasped in her own, thumbs stroking her wrists while green, worried eyes seemed to bore into her very soul. "Regina? What's wrong? Tell me."

"It hurts."

"What hurts?"

"Everything."

"Regina I- I don't understand. Is there something I can do? What can I do?"

"Distract me."

"What? H.." Emma suddenly had that look, the one where she had an idea. Barely a second passed before Regina felt pale, perfect lips press against her own.

As far as distractions go, this was a good one. Regina's mind spun with so many thoughts and the butterflies that invaded her stomach seemed to bring the rest of her body to life, but even without those things, the lips would have been enough to dull the ache in her chest.

They were so soft, so sweet, so.. wet.

_Oh_

The realisation that the last was not lips, Regina parted her own and welcomed the tongue that slipped between them. She couldn't fathom how they had spent so much time together and not already done this, she wanted more of it.

She gave no thought to releasing the moan that begged for escape, no consideration for dismissing the hand that had somehow found its way to her thigh as it's owner pressed against her, pushing her down into bed before straddling her.

Reality had a funny way of ruining things.

"Well well ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt but we've got a storm coming and I'm going to need all the help I can get."

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**A/N: If you heeded my warning, then I suggest we form a prayer circle and hope someone pushes Hook overboard. If you didn't, then.. I'm not sure what to tell you, I hate cliffhangers AND teases, the warning was there for a reason. You can still join the prayer circle though, maybe my muse will have Regina 'accidentally' douse him with rum and throw a fireball at him.**

**No, that wasn't a spoiler. But continue to dream, my little pyromaniacs.**


	6. Pointless Denial

**BEHOLD! The reason for taking so long to post this damned chapter.**

**Please note the rating change, if you're not comfortable with smut, skip this chapter- although I'm sure most of you expected it. For someone so judgmental about writing these chapters, I sure do them a lot.**

* * *

Emma stomped into their cabin, followed closely by Regina, both soaked to the point of looking like they had just been pulled from the ocean. In truth, the storm that raged outside the ship had been violent and unforgiving, tossing them about the deck like rag dolls as they both fought to keep the ship above water. By the time the danger of sinking had passed, they were exhausted and in dire need of warmth.

Beyond shivering and without thought to her present company, Emma began to strip the clothes from her body, growling with the effort it took to remove her jeans as they clung relentlessly to her legs. After a few minutes of unsuccessful tugging and barely contained curses, she let out a sigh of resignation and dropped down on to their bed.

Coming to stand at the end of the bed, Regina looked down at her with a smirk and Emma's face flushed as a brief flash of insecurity had her arms twitching at her side, physically resisting the urge to cover her bare torso.

Regina seemed not to notice, shamelessly examining every inch of revealed flesh, her appreciative stare lingering on Emma's chest before it drifted down her body. "Need help?"

The husky tone had Emma's stomach clenching, a vain attempt to suppress the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. She gave Regina a brief nod of thanks and draped an arm across her eyes, inwardly scoffing at the action; the image of Regina clad only in her underwear, bottom lip pulled between teeth had already burned itself permanently into her brain.

The prickle of goosebumps spread across her body when the chilled tips of Regina's fingers brushed along her thigh, nails lightly scraping skin as they slipped beneath her jeans and with surprisingly little coaxing, Emma felt the cool caress of air against her legs. Sensing Regina's presence had shifted between her legs, she removed the arm blocking her view and lifted her head to look down. When brown eyes met green, Emma pursed her lips and waited.

Her head fell back to the mattress and she whimpered when Regina reached forward and pressed a palm against her sex, more and more pressure being applied until Emma felt the rough fabric of her panties rubbing against her clit.

"Regina.."

Emma groaned her displeasure, immediately regretting the decision to speak when the hand was pulled away. With a frown, she rose up on her elbows and was met with the sight of a perfectly raised eyebrow. Rather than the worry and doubt she had expected, Regina's eyes were challenging and - if possible - even more predatory than before.

Licking her lips, her gaze fell to the hand between her legs before returning to brown eyes and without hesitation, Regina complied with the unspoken demand; her palm smoothly sliding over Emma's mound, fingers curling beneath the waistband of her panties.

The time Regina took to pull them down her legs had her squirming, but when eyes dropped to survey the newly revealed skin, Emma spread her legs to offer Regina a better view. The quick swipe of a finger through her folds caused a moan to slip past her lips; pleasure and disappointment in equal measure. She snapped her mouth shut, the protest that sat on the tip of her tongue remained there as she watched the finger slip between plump red lips, Regina's own moan of approval trapped within her throat as she tasted her.

As the seconds ticked by, Regina seemed far too invested in her finger for Emma's liking and she let out a huff. "You know, if you're enjoying it so much, there's plenty more."

Releasing the finger with a pop, Regina smirked and Emma had to close her eyes as the warmth of Regina's breath flitted across glistening flesh. "Patience is a virtue, Miss Swan."

Reaching down between her legs, Emma ran a hand through brown hair and playfully tugged the silken strands. "So is generosity and- oh god." Regina ran her tongue along soaked folds before pressing it flat, effectively short-circuiting Emma's brain as she began to lick with long, slow strokes.

Fingers gripped the head between legs, pushing down and urging Regina to keep going as hips raised from the bed. The tongue entered her, worming its way through her, tasting her- it was almost too much. Emma could feel her release building, the thought that this could be over so soon had her tugging at the hair within her hand once more.

Rather than stop, Regina sucked Emma's clit into her mouth before replacing her tongue with fingers, smoothly sliding two of them deep inside. When a flood of wetness suddenly covered her chin, she moaned into Emma, her hands gripping hips as the vibrations caused the blonde to begin squirming uncontrollably.

Emma felt the nails digging into her hips, adding to the overwhelming heat that swam through her body. She had never been one to mix pain with pleasure, but as the moment stretched on, she found herself wondering why exactly that was. A particularly hard, almost painful thrust from the fingers had her crying out as teeth grazed her sensitive nub.

Thighs clamped down, trapping Regina's head as the walls around her fingers contracted. The muffled sound of her name mixed with the moan that fell from pale lips sent Regina into overdrive and she kept up her punishing pace, drawing orgasm after orgasm from the blonde.

xxx

Yawning, Charming rolled over and pulled the body in his arms away from the wall; quietly hoping it was enough to stop the sounds from waking his wife as he continued to pretend one of the women in the room next to theirs wasn't his not-so little girl.

* * *

**I need to quit doing this, seriously.**


	7. Time Apart

Everyone on board the Jolly Roger was trying to drive Emma insane, she was sure of it. Not only had she been bored out of her mind because Regina decided she wanted to spend all her time reading, but Charming had been giving her weird looks all day and Snow clearly hadn't gotten over their discussion yet. She wasn't sure what Gold was doing since he had shut himself in his room from the start of their trip, only emerging from within when he deemed it necessary - he also tended to lose his temper when anyone tried to bother him.

Hook was her only option for entertainment and because of that, she was willing to put up with his seemingly uncontrollable need to flirt with anyone - or thing - that possessed a pulse. Though with how fast her inevitable drunkenness was approaching, she now realised it wasn't the smartest decision she had ever made. On the bright side, her boredom had lessened and she was actually enjoying his company sans sleaze.

"Spin the bottle?" Hook suggested with a shrug.

They had spent the past half hour trying to decide on a game to play, there weren't a lot of choices while they were on a pirate ship out in the middle of nowhere.

Shaking her head, Emma looked at him like he was an idiot. "There's only two of us, and how do you even know that game?"

"Your wolf friend introduced me to a lot of things since my time in Storybrooke, though I imagine she wouldn't have done so if she'd known who I was." The sullen look that overcame his expression had her curiosity piqued.

Tilting her head, she grinned at him. "You like her, huh?"

Hook knew the little slip of information would give him the opening he was looking for, his own grin hidden behind the bottle of rum in his hand as he took a drink before answering. "Maybe a little."

She groaned when he wagged his eyebrows, finding herself suddenly regretting this line of conversation. "Speaking of liking people.."

Emma shook her head again as she picked up on his thought and interrupted him before he could finish. "Nope, we're not talking about that."

"It's not like we have anything better to do, we've exhausted all of our options, this and drinking is what we have left. Come on. I walked in on you two making out, I know something is going on there. We can even make a game of it." He had a point, there really was nothing else to do besides drink and if they continued at the rate they had, even that wasn't going to last long.

Sighing, she conceded with a nod. "Truth or dare. Dares have rules, but no question is off-limits and if you lie, I'll know. Deal?" Emma extended her hand and Hook grinned before clasping it.

"Deal."

* * *

On the other side of the ship, Regina found herself in a similar position to Emma and it wasn't often that she had experienced boredom. As a Queen or a Mayor and certainly as a mother, there had always been something to occupy her time. It hadn't been all that long after the blonde left to seek entertainment of her own, that Regina found her concentration waning.

Having lost count of the times she had read the same line, she finally gave up and tossed her book down on Emma's side of the bed.

Standing, she paced the cabin while she thought about what she could do now. She didn't want to leave the room, the last thing she needed was to cross paths with the two idiots. As it happens, it was already difficult enough not to simply go in search of them and give in to the temptation of setting them on fire and by them, she mostly meant Snow. Charming had earned a few points with her during their voyage and she could admit - to herself - that he wasn't entirely useless. She had no doubt that Snow as a human torch would amuse her no end, but it was a definite no-no if she wanted to stay in the good graces of Emma Swan, which after their time together yesterday; she very much did.

Just as her lack of ideas was beginning to irritate her, she glimpses the familiar red leather from the corner of her eye. Having been subjected to Emma's particular brand of musical taste during their time together, she found it was one of the things she now missed that usually accompanied that extra presence. Walking over to the jacket, she reaches inside one of the pockets and smiles as her hand wraps around Emma's iPod.

Scanning through the assorted playlists that had been labelled by genre, she immediately sought out the rock as it was the only music of Emma's she had heard and actually liked. If it weren't for her finger slipping and forcing her to scroll down further, she would have missed the one titled The Queen.

Selecting the first song on the list and pressing play, she's laughing by the time she's returned to the bed. At least until it becomes apparent that despite its upbeat rhythm and somewhat strange lyrics, essentially she was listening to a love song. Her heart skips a beat at the realisation and she feels faint all of a sudden. Did this mean Emma was in love with her? or falling in love with her?

She drops to the bed, questions upon questions racing through her mind.

She knew their relationship was changing, but to think of it as love seemed.. To be honest, she hadn't thought much of it at all; which was absurd now that she was thinking about it. They had gone from enemies to hesitant allies, to maybe friends and then- then they'd slept together. How she hadn't thought about it until now, she had no idea.

When the song changes and it's beautiful but sad too, she's conflicted. Torn between wanting to smile and dance with the sound while at the same time, she just wanted to cry.

It occurs to her that maybe, maybe she shouldn't be listening to it. If Emma wanted to share this with her, wouldn't she have done so by now? If these songs represented how Emma felt about her, then she wasn't being fair and this wasn't right. It was an invasion of her privacy, sure it would probably be different if she had confessed her own but, Emma didn't know. Regina had never had the courage to tell her, she had always thought she wasn't good enough, that she deserved to be unhappy.

Love was weakness.

* * *

Emma heard the strangely girlish scream and laughed as Hook tore through the door, a disgusted looking Rumpelstiltskin not too far behind. Hook darted past the table and circled around behind Emma's chair, using her as some sort of protective buffer.

"It wasn't bad enough that you disturbed me, you had to scar me for life as well?" Rumpel shouted.

"It was a prank!" Hook whined and ducked behind her as a fireball flew above their heads. "Come on! She dared me to do it!"

"Woah! Hey now, I don't even know what you did!" Emma pushed her chair back, not caring if she injured him in the process. She raised her hands in front of her to placate the angry imp. "I dared him to knock on your door, anything more than that was all his idea."

Rumpel glared at them for an uncomfortably long time before he flicked his wrist and Hook's crotch caught fire; causing yet another scream that made Emma wince. "Next time, I'll cut it off." He spun away from them and stalked out of the galley.

Turning, Emma smirked at the sight of Hook bouncing from foot to foot. Summoning a pitcher of water, she threw it into his lap and raised her eyebrow. "You flashed him, didn't you?"

He shrugged and they sat back down. "Truth or Dare?"

Laughing, Emma shook her head. "You haven't had enough after that?"

He grinned. "One more."

Having chosen dare last time and still feeling sick after ingesting the unidentifiable piece of meat Hook had made her eat, Emma figured she'd go for the safer option this time round. "Truth."

Leaning forward, he squinted at her asthough he were trying to extract an answer without having to ask his question. A minute or two passed before he leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "Do you love her?"

Emma blinked, entirely unprepared for that particular question, especially coming from Hook. "I.."

"Because if you do and you end up hurting her, I'll have no problem taking my plank out of retirement to feed you to the sharks."

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she sputtered. "You think I'm going.. wait, why would you even care?"

He shrugged. "We go a long way back, love and she's gone through enough, don't you think?"

Emma smiled at his words before she nodded her agreement. "Yeah, yeah I do."

He returned her smile and gestured toward the door. "I think I've had enough excitement for the day and we're getting low on rum. Go back to your woman, I need to go and change my pants."

Laughing once more, she stood and made to leave. "You're not as bad as I thought, pirate."

"Right back atcha, Princess."

xxx

Surprisingly less drunk than she thought she would be by the time she returned to Regina, Emma sauntered down the hallway, pausing at the familiar thrum of music coming from their room. Unable to make out anything beyond a beat, her curiosity got the better of her and she continued.

Upon entering their room and recognising which playlist it is that Regina is listening to, Emma wanted to turn right back around and flee because she was so not good at the emotional bullshit that was likely about to occur.

As always was the case when it came to Regina, she completely ignored her natural instincts and somehow managed to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

"You're listening to it wrong." And she was, because this particular list had at least three hours of music on it and she hadn't been gone that long, so there was no way Regina should be laughing at Get Lucky by Daft Punk.

When the only response she received was a confused stare, Emma continued talking as she walked over and picked up the iPod. "I started this list the day I met you."

Pressing a few buttons, Emma restarts the playlist from the beginning before making her way over to the bed and sitting down. "It should have started with this song, I generally have it set to shuffle if I'm not in any particular mood."

Glancing sideways, Emma smiles when she catches sight of the twitch of Regina's lips. "A lot of them are songs that remind me of you, some are how I feel about you, others are a sort of combination of the two. This one seemed appropriate for that day, how I felt when I saw you run out of your ridiculous mansion. Like every moment in my life had led me to this point in time and everything before it just.. didn't matter at all."

Emma leaned back against the headboard, closing her eyes and letting the music speak for her. Regina hadn't said a word since she had arrived, but when the song finally finished and the next played, she could sense the eyes on her.

Without opening her own, she answered what she believed Regina wanted to ask. "The Mine.. When Henry went snooping and, as is usually the case, got himself in trouble. You stepped up to me, tears in your eyes and.. you asked me to help you. I would have done anything for you in that moment."

"No special song for our Tree moment then?"

Emma chuckles softly before she inclines her head. "Duran Duran, Hungry Like the Wolf." Cracking an eye open, her heart clenches when she sees the fresh stain of tears marring beautiful cheeks, but she grins at the puzzled look on Regina's face. "I keep forgetting to add it, it's on there somewhere though."

"I know the song, Miss Swan." Regina can't help letting her affection slip through with the formality. "I was more confused about the choice."

Emma's eyes snap open in disbelief and she stares at Regina for probably longer than she should before she responds. "You're shitting me, right?"

When Regina simply raises her eyebrow, Emma knows she wants to reprimand her, yet her continued disbelief overrides the urge to offer any sort of half-hearted apology. "Burning the ground, I break from the crowd. I'm on the hunt, I'm after you." She hadn't sung in front of anyone for a while, but by the look Regina gave her, she knew she still had it.

"And here I thought you might have inherited your mothers banshee-like tendencies."

"That bad, huh?" Emma's hand moved from her lap and hovered over Regina's head before fingers descended into tousled, brown locks.

A content sigh escaped Regina's lips as nails scraped lightly against her scalp. "If I could think of anything worse, I'd have used that."

"Are banshee's real then?"

"Yes, but we're getting off track." Regina turned on her side, needing to see Emma's face before she could ask what had gnawed at her since discarding her book and finding this little surprise. "How long?"

Emma pulled back her hand and slid down to lay beside her, resting an elbow against the mattress as she propped her head up with her hand. "I'm assuming you're asking how long I've been in love with you."

"And here I thought you were just a pretty face."

"Don't forget the hot bod." Emma fluttered her eyelashes innocently before a grin broke out across her face.

Regina smirked. "That too."

Chuckling softly, Emma shrugs a shoulder. "I hadn't really thought about it." And she hadn't, at least not until tonight when Hook had confronted her about it.

Brown eyes narrowed and a slim finger shot out, poking Emma in the ribs. "That's a cop out answer."

Emma shifted closer and slid her hand along a hip. "I wasn't finished." She slipped the hand beneath Regina's shirt and smiled when Regina noticeably shivered at the touch. "I've always had feelings for you that weren't of the.. uh.. homicidal variety..."

"I would never have guessed there was such a romantic under that bumbling, imbecilic exterior." Despite the fact she really did want an answer, Regina couldn't seem to help herself.

Emma sighed and glared half-heartedly. "You know, if you're just going to keep interrupting me with your offensive sass, I'm totally fine with ignoring you entirely and going to sleep."

Rolling her eyes, Regina gave a bored sigh and gestured with her hand. "Oh fine, go ahead and regale me with your flowery ineptitude."

Regina was surprised when Emma leaned forward and kissed her. While she knew this was just another distraction, she couldn't bring herself to care enough to protest. Emma's lips were so soft, so gentle as they moved against hers that when she felt the light flick against her lip, she parted them willingly and met the caress of Emma's tongue with her own.

When they broke apart, Emma breathed a sigh and gave her answer. "The fire."

"What?" Regina frowned at the unnaturally high pitch of her voice.

Emma ignored it. She knew she'd been deflecting this whole time and now she was worried that if she stopped it wouldn't come out, so she kept going. "Possibly before that but I think when the thought of losing someone is as.. heartbreaking..." She trailed off as she was grabbed by the shoulder and forced on her back before being straddled.

"Stop." Regina closed her eyes and tried to quell the anger that bubbled forth. She couldn't take knowing, Emma had been in love with her all this time and she had waited until now to tell her. All the fighting, the bickering, the constant one-upmanship could have been avoided if she had known.

When she opened them and glanced down, Emma was staring up at her and for the first time she realised the position they were in as emerald lust-filled eyes burned into her. All thought completely vanished from her mind and suddenly their lips were locked once more, this kiss more passionate, more intimate, more.. knowing, than any of those previous.

* * *

**A/N: **Sooo.. At one point I might have felt bad for ending it there.. this isn't one of those points.

**A/N2: the songs in order of listening are: **Your Love is my Drug by Ke$ha, Breath of Life by Florence and the Machine, Wake Me Up by Avicii & Guillotine by Yadi.


	8. Second Chance

When Emma awoke that morning, she had to carefully extract herself from beneath a body before she could leave the bed. She smiled at the sound of Regina's murmured protests, her hand flailing around the bed before Emma caught it and placed a gentle kiss within the palm before setting it back down.

Some time during the night when their bodies demanded respite, Emma decided it was time to confront her mother and - if she had to - force the woman to talk to her. It wasn't that she was looking forward to the conversation, but she realised that if they were going to have a chance at rescuing their son, then everyone needed to be able to work together. With the way things were going at the moment, it didn't seem all that unreasonable to assume their being a team was very much an unlikely possibility.

So it was a sense of both relief and dread that she carried as she walked toward her parents cabin. Relief, because she had finally come to a decision and dread because, well, that seemed obvious. She was about to tell her parents she had fallen in love with their arch nemesis and no matter how her father had been treating their friendship so far, even he had to have limits.

She could hear sounds coming from behind their door and not wanting to hear anything she wasn't meant to or - god forbid - something that might scar her for the rest of her life, she knocked.

An uncomfortable silence came from their room before Snow's meek voice called out for her to enter and although she was unsure how her presence would be taken, the paling of her mothers features and the furtive way her father looked around the room at everything that wasn't her, was not even close to the reactions she was expecting.

As both of them were currently residing on one cot, she moved to the second and without an ounce of grace, dropped down with a nervous exhalation. "Well, this reception makes me feel all warm and fuzzy."

She sighed when neither of them spoke, but instead of leaving and trying again later - as her instincts screamed at her to do just that - she went ahead and ignored the discomfort emanating from across the room and said the first thing that came to mind. "Snow.. Mom, I'm sorry I've been so awful to you and D-ad.. actually, I don't know what his problem is." Raising an eyebrow to him, she asks. "Why have you been avoiding me the past two days?"

His eyes meet hers briefly in what she assumes is an attempt at silent communication, but she has no idea what he's trying to tell her and shakes her head. "You're going to have to use your words, dad."

"I um.. overheard something two nights ago... from your room."

Her eyes widened comically and her mouth formed a silent O. It didn't escape her notice that he mentioned nothing of last night, but she would definitely be having a talk with Regina after this. "Well that explains that. I'm not sure what I can say to uh.. undo the damage from hearing that but, you're not angry?"

He shook his head. "I admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I can't say I didn't see it coming."

"Is that why Mom looks sick and isn't talking to me?"

He glances at Snow with a faint smile before shaking his head. "I imagine she thinks you're here to yell at her some more."

Emma huffs. "It wasn't my plan, no.." Looking her mother in the eye, she adds. "Though you might have preferred it by the end of this."

Inhaling, Emma mentally prepared herself for their reactions before she exhaled and let the words flow without pause until she was finished. "I'm in love with Regina, I told her last night and while I know that she probably doesn't even come close to the kind of person you would have picked for me, I hope that you'll find it in your hearts to try and put the past aside so that we can all work together to find our son.. your grandson."

The room was eerily silent for quite a while, none of them daring to speak or even look at each other. It was only when David cleared his throat that Emma took the chance to look him in the eye, her expression painstakingly hopeful.

"I don't think I misunderstood any of that, but I want to make sure." she nodded for him to continue. "You're in love with Regina?"

She nodded again.

"Is this recent or.." He trailed off.

"I hadn't thought much about it until after I told her but.. I guess it developed over time, I knew there was something there when we first met." she frowned. "I had no idea that it was this but I've had.. a lot more time than anyone else to come to terms with and accept it for what it is."

He reaches for Snow's hand in what Emma knows to be a gesture of comfort and she waits for him to say something more, surprised when it's her mothers voice instead. "I've always been the one who believed in her, there was a time when I would have argued til my last breath to defend her actions."

For the second time, Emma turned her gaze to Snow and although she was wary of where the conversation was headed, she remained quiet.

"After the last time she tried to kill me, I gave up on her and started believing the things everyone had been trying to get me to see for years. Once you removed the curse, all I could feel for her was anger. " Emma could see the tears welling in her mothers eyes and even though her irritation was growing, she still had to resist walking over there to comfort her.

"I was upset that she was the reason I had to give up my daughter, that I wasn't able to see you grow to be the person that you are. She separated me from my True Love, she tried to frame me for murder." Her voice broke as the tears finally fell, but all Emma could do was watch while some part of her screamed at her to get angry and lash out, to yell, to do something to defend Regina.

"I have never felt hate for someone, but when I stood on her doorstep and begged her to kill me, she refused me mercy, taunted me and I hated her for it." Emma stood this time, ready to release the anger only to be stopped by these next words.

"Despite that and regardless of what she herself might think, I never stopped loving her. All she ever wanted, the whole reason our entire history is tainted by pain and death is because no one cared, no one showed her that she was worthy of love other than a child she despised."

Immediately, Emma's anger dissipated and she had to sit back down. As unsure as she had been about this entire situation, not once did she consider the fact that Snow might accept it. "Y.. you're not upset?"

Snow wipes her cheeks as she laughs. "Oh I am so far beyond upset."

"But..."

"But you love her and I'm guessing she loves you as well. True Love or not, it would be suicidal to stand in the way of her happiness again. More importantly, I could never deny you your own happy ending." the smile Emma receives is sad and tired, but she knows it's genuine. "I know now that all the chances I gave her meant nothing, because none of them could ever give her what she desperately needed. You.. my own daughter is giving her the one thing I never could. You're her second chance for love."

* * *

**Author Note: **I wanted Emma's magic to explode with her anger and have Snow thrown through the wall, but apparently my muse wasn't onboard with that, the bitch. *sigh* Maybe another time.


	9. Doubting Her Worth

Emma couldn't remember the last time she felt as happy as she did on her walk back to their cabin, the conversation with her parents had gone a lot better than she expected. Although she had thought David was more likely to accept it than not, having Snow White put aside her differences with the Evil Queen for the sake of her daughter's happiness? It was a complete shock and for once Emma was ecstatic, rather than homicidal because she hated surprises.

Of course she wasn't stupid, she knew there would be bumps along the road but to think an almost four decade long feud could come to an end because of her, it was mind-blowing and she wanted to share the feeling with Regina.

Only fate seemed to have other plans in store for her because when she opened the door and stepped into the room, she caught sight of Regina curled in a ball in the middle of their bed, cries muffled beneath the covers that hid her from view.

Her heart practically dropped down into her stomach and suddenly, she wasn't so happy any more.

Coming to stand beside the bed, Emma frowned down at the lump that shook with each heart-breaking sob. She wanted to rip the covers away and gather Regina into her arms, all the while demanding to know what was wrong and who she needed to kill for tearing down the woman to the point that this, was what was left.

Instead, sat on the edge of the bed with her back to the scene and hesitantly spoke. "Regina?"

She closed her eyes at the sound of Regina's surprise, her heart thumping erratically against her chest while her mind raced with the scenarios where this could turn out to be her own doing. It hurt to think it may have been her fault, that maybe it had been too soon to reveal her feelings or the possibility that Regina now regretted allowing her in behind her walls. When no response beyond the initial intake of breath came, she swallowed the lump in her throat and dismissed the thoughts as she tried again. "Regina, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

If Emma didn't have enough to doubt that response already, the dry sound of Regina's voice - evidence of her crying - wouldn't have fooled anyone. "If you don't want to tell me, at least pretend to care about me enough not to lie to me."

Even as the words escaped, her heart and mind both rebelled against her. Regina was perhaps one of the strongest women she had ever met, for her to be hiding away, crying - it had to be something big to revert her to this and here she was, getting upset over a tiny white lie. What the fuck was she doing?

"Oh I'm sorry, Princess." Emma gaped at the clear hostility now directed towards her. "I gave you too much credit in thinking 'nothing' would imply I didn't want to talk about it."

Anger was definitely familiar territory for them and while Emma had thought they passed the avoidance stage, she at least knew what to do. With a deep breath, she counted to ten and cleared her mind of all the uselessly hurtful things she could respond with and instead admitted her fault. "I deserved that."

With her back to Regina, she couldn't see what was happening behind her but she felt movement on the bed and Regina's voice came more clearly to her. "Don't."

Emma sighed and rested her elbows on her knees, dropping her head into her hands. "What?"

"Don't be understanding, I want to be angry."

She snorted. "Yeah well, I don't."

"Of course, doesn't matter what anyone else wants, as long as the Saviour is happy." Regina's avoidance tactics would be the number one reason she ended up in an asylum one day.

Her palms slid to her forehead, fingers slipping into her hair as she shook her head and dug her nails into her scalp. "Seriously? I'm not playing this game with you, Regina. Either you talk to me, or you don't, I'm not leaving either way and I'm not going to sit here insulting you because you're having a meltdown."

It was the need for something else to focus on, to distract Regina from whatever it was that had resulted in her breaking down and curling into the foetal position, that had Emma continue talking. "I came in here to tell you that my parents weren't going to give us any shit for being in a relationship. I told them I love you and I wanted to share how amazingly fucking happy I was that they both accepted it."

"You told them?" She should probably be angry that they hadn't even talked about telling anyone, yet she was more surprised. If anything, she thought Emma would be the one who wanted to keep it between them for now.

Frowning at Regina's obvious disbelief, Emma asked. "Why wouldn't I?"

Regina scoffed. "Because they hate me? I bet they think I did something to you to make you think you love me."

Groaning, Emma rolled her eyes. "They don't hate you and neither of them accused you of anything."

"Why? How can they believe it when I don't?"

Emma's head snapped around to stare at her, ignorant of the tears gathered in her eyes until the dishevelled, broken sight of Regina sent them flowing down her cheeks. She waited, hopeful that she would receive an explanation but minutes passed in silence and the hand that had flown to cover Regina's mouth remained.

"Right." She needed to think, or drink, or hit someone. Afraid that it would be the latter, that she did love Regina - whether she believed her or not - had her standing and moving to the door as she wiped the tears from her face.

Only, as she reached to pull it open, Regina finally spoke. "You said you wouldn't leave."

Her hand slapped against the door and she pressed her forehead against it, she felt conflicted. On one hand, she could point out the fact Regina didn't believe she loved her, in which case Emma is a liar and anything she says is questionable or - she could not ruin her entire life by dismissing the things Regina did believe, because at the very least, it gave her hope. Releasing a puff of air, she turns to lean her back against the door before sliding to the ground and closing her eyes. "I hate that you can just pick what to believe like the things I say come as multiple choice."

"You think I don't want to believe that someone could love me?"

Emma growled and thumped her head back against the door before opening her eyes and fixing Regina firmly with her gaze. "Not could, does. I do love you and you not believing me- that fucking hurts."

"I have spent my whole life being told that love is weakness. Every time I have chosen to ignore that lesson, someone either betrays me, dies or in the recent case of our son, gets kidnapped. I don't deserve anyone's love, especially not yours. I'm a monster, I took away your family, I ruined your life and the lives of countless others."

Emma rolled her eyes. She was beginning to believe in destiny, it was hard to ignore it when she thought about her life up until this point. Going to prison so she would have to give up Henry, who spends ten years in a town where her parents were, living with the Evil Queen who happened to need saving as much as anyone else. It was pointless to live in the past when the present was just as complicated, ridiculous and had more influence on shaping the person you would become. "So instead of talking to me, you would rather doubt me in silence and cry about it when I'm not looking? That's fucked up, Regina."

"I don't doubt you!" Regina snapped.

Emma gives her a disbelieving look, wasn't that the reason this conversation had started in the first place? "What?"

Regina sighed and shook her head. She should have known Emma would eventually get it out of her - what's one more wall to someone who's made a habit out of breaking them down. Had their relationship - whether friendship or otherwise - been left up to her, they'd still be at each others throats, or one of them would have gone overboard by now. "I know you mean it, I can see it- even now but.."

"But what?"

"I don't understand it, I doubt that its me you love and not just the person you think I am."

No matter how she thought about it, Emma couldn't make sense of what she just heard and without shame, voiced as much. "What the fuck does that even mean? I know who you are."

"No Emma, you don't. You know who Regina is, but there is more to me, no matter how much I wish that weren't true."

Emma wanted to laugh, badly but she knew that would probably be the worst thing to do at this point. To herself though, she silently found the situation amusing. This had been what she expected from her mother, to hear it coming from Regina seemed absurd. If anyone knew her it was the person who had defended her for months, the one she had spent nearly every waking moment of the last three weeks with. "Regina, I know who YOU are. You're the hard ass Mayor of Storybrooke, you're the Evil Queen from Fairytale Land that killed hundreds, if not thousands of people."

She stood and walked over to the bed, climbing on and sitting cross-legged in front of Regina. "You're the arch-nemesis of my mother, the abused daughter of the Queen of Hearts, the broken-hearted former girlfriend of a Stable Boy."

She knew the last two would call for some kind of reaction, so she raised her hand and pressed a finger to Regina's mouth the moment her lips parted to protest and carried on. "You are the mother I had hoped for when I gave up my son, who is now our son and perhaps the smartest, most well-mannered eleven year old I have ever met. You are Regina, the woman I know, the woman I care for above any other and most of the all, the woman I love with every fibre of my being."

Regina grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away, shaking her head as she spoke. "I don't deserve it."

Shifting closer, Emma freed her hand and reached for Regina's cheek, her thumb brushing away the fresh tears that continued to fall. "Maybe not, but it's my love to give freely and I'm giving it to you. Your past might be the reason for who you are, but it isn't everything. I was a thief, a criminal, an orphan that thought nobody loved me because I didn't deserve it. Now I'm the Sheriff, a mother, the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White. Who I was, who I am and who I will be, they're not the same. Not for me and not for you."

Smiling sadly, Regina's fingers curled around her wrist once more, only this time the hand stayed where it was "You deserve so much more than me."

Emma returned the smile but hers was happier, lighter with the hope that what they had would be worth it for Regina to fight the doubts and whisperings of ghosts long since passed. "Do I not deserve what I want?"

Regina titled her head, her confusion obvious. "Of course you do."

"Then assuming you don't plan on ending this before it can even begin, I want you."

It was something she had contemplated since she woke up to an empty bed and maybe, maybe that was the reason the doubts had seeped in to begin with. She had to ask, needed one last reassurance despite the fear gnawing at her that Emma would do a complete turnaround and take back all she had just said. "And.. if I do end it?"

Emma shrugged before she leaned forward and captured lips that she fell a little more in love with, with every kiss. Their eyes closed simultaneously, Emma wondering if this would be the last while Regina hoped it wasn't.

As she pulled back, they stared at each other as they regained their breath. When she was sure her voice wouldn't crack with the words, Emma replied simply. "Then you'll break my heart."


	10. Acceptance

She had never held someones heart in her hand. At least, not figuratively speaking. Having been the Evil Queen, of course she had done so literally. It was an idiotic saying, now that she thought about it.

Regina shook her head, her face lit up by her smile as she continued to stare into the piercing eyes of Emma Swan. In this moment, nothing mattered to her other than the love she could plainly see swimming within those pools of emerald-green. She had no idea how much time had passed since Emma had said the words, nor did she much care.

And as they stared - Emma waited, content to do so forever if need be. To watch the emotion, the thoughts, the words that wanted to come but could find no voice to speak them. That was what she saw in Regina's eyes, they had always been her most expressive feature. They held her secrets, her lies, her truths and most importantly, the love she felt in return.

But even though she decided she didn't need to hear them, that she needed no confirmation for what was so clearly obvious within the brown depths, lips parted and spoke them anyway.

"I love you, Emma Swan."

She was wrong, so very wrong. She wanted- needed to hear them. Repeatedly, she had to record them and play it on a loop, over and over and.. "Say it again."

Regina laughed and raised her hands to Emma's cheeks, repeating the words even as she leaned into to capture her enticing pink lips. "I love you."

The kiss was unlike any other, familiar yet different - this wasn't the kiss of beginnings or lovers. This was no spur of the moment, no gesture of afterthought. This was two souls reuniting as one, it was the cheesy sought after kiss that eluded people their entire lives, the kind that actors practiced to look perfect for the screen in those god awful romantic comedies they both despised. It was perfect.

When they pulled apart for air, Emma blinked as her heart fluttered within her chest. "Did you uh.. feel that?"

Regina blushed even as the sass spilled from her mouth. "You mean did I feel as though I was playing a part in some badly written chick flick?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Emma nodded as her own cheeks flushed red. "Yeah, that."

"I did."

"Right.." Emma feigned a cough to cover her embarrassment and stood from the bed. "Lets um.. not do that again."

"Agreed." With a smirk, Regina came across the bed on her knees and grabbed Emma's wrist before she could move. Clasping her hand around the back of Emma's neck, Regina pulled their mouths together in a much more familiar way before ending with a playful nip to her bottom lip. Standing from the bed, her hand remained firmly clasped around Emma's wrist as she led them from the cabin.

* * *

They had barely set foot on deck with their breakfast when Hook came over, excitedly spouting words neither of them were able to understand. When Emma finally shouted his name and got him to stop babbling, Regina spoke up. "Would you like to try using words in the form of coherent sentences, perhaps more calmly this time?"

Hook rolled his eyes, twice upon noticing the smirk from Emma. "Well Your Majesty, I thought you might like to know that we can finally see land." As his arm swept out behind him, they both followed the gesture and their eyes widened at the sight of the island in the distance.

Their panic set in almost immediately, simultaneously. Thoughts raced within their minds, strangely similar in nature. Emma didn't think they were ready to face what was on that island, Regina wasn't even sure what they would find on the island - nevermind being ready for it.

And how long had it been since they were last focused on Henry?

They looked to each other then. So caught up in their own fantasy world, they failed to realise that this was going to happen. They had been a distraction to each other but as their relationship developed, they became lost in one another. Emma still didn't know anything about magic, Regina still wasn't on the best of terms with anyone aside from Emma - and perhaps Hook, if she could ever admit that he actually meant something to her.

It was as the regret set in, the shame for allowing their thoughts to drift from their son that Hook intervened. "Ladies."

Both sets of eyes rose and he flashed them a smile. "Constant worry would have served no purpose. You found a distraction in each other, happiness and if I'm not mistaking the nauseatingly smitten looks you've both been wearing lately, love."

That was no excuse. Even if they were to overlook the fact their son's abduction had slipped their minds, there was still the matter of readiness. They had no plan once they reached the island, no way of knowing where they needed to go.

Regina opened her mouth to voice these thoughts, but the raised eyebrow from Hook had her snapping it shut again. "Your son will be happy for you. With the two of you working together, I have no doubt that you will find him and.. once we figure out the way back to Storybrooke, he will have his family - safe and complete."

It was the thought of family - such a simple word that meant so much to the both of them - that had them both smiling and Hook rolling his eyes once again. "Good, pity party cancelled."

Waving off the twin glares, he moved back to the helm as he spoke over his shoulder. "From the look of it, we're still a few days out which means we have time to come up with a plan. So you two deal with that, and please include the other vomit-worthy couple because I am tired of putting up with them."

"Putting up with who?" Emma snorted at the sound of Snow's voice as she and Charming appeared on deck.

"The Notebook cast, dear." Regina and Emma both grimaced at the look of delight on Snow's face, groaning at the words they knew were about to come from her mouth.

"I love that movie." Yep, those were the words.

David came to stand beside them and leaned against the railing, nodding his head as though they needed his affirmation to believe Snow White - of all people - would be a fan of the genre that made a workout of their gag reflexes.

With a muttered, "Of course you do." from Regina, Emma dismissed the conversation by bringing about the matter of the much more important topic, their son. "Hook says we have a few days to come up with a plan to save Henry."

In a swirl of smoke, Rumpelstiltskin startled them all with his grand entrance, smirking at their surprise and giving them a small bow before he spoke. "That won't be necessary, dearie. I already have a plan, Miss Swan and I'm afraid I won't be needing the assistance of this ragtag band of misfits."

Recognising the signature attire of the Dark One, Regina stepped forward curiously. "What are you up to, Imp?"

Rumpel wagged his finger at her. "Now now, that would be telling."

Knowing what he was capable of, the worry and anger pooled in her gut as she took a step toward him and snarled. "If you get my son killed I will..."

"You'll what? Destroy my happiness?" He interrupted. At her look of annoyance, he emitted a shrill giggle that caused everyone but Regina to flinch. His expression darkened immediately after, his insanity gone for the moment.

"Do not forget that I am the one who taught you everything you know. Save your threats for the ones who fear you, Your Majesty." With the utterance of her title, he left them all behind and vanished the same way he had appeared.


	11. Unconventional Lessons

**Author Note:** The song, you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it, is _**She Bangs by Ricky Martin.**_

* * *

Regina, Snow and Charming had been bickering for days about the plan for once they reached Neverland. None of them could agree on a single thing and all this time together in an enclosed space, interrupted only briefly by the need for food, sleep and that.. other thing, wasn't doing any of them any good. It was on the third day, during a rather intense outburst from Regina – about the joint count of brain cells among the love birds equalling half of her shoe size - that Emma finally reached her breaking point and started shouting at them.

Truth be told, she had less of a problem with Regina insulting them than they might think. It hadn't been the moment that made her snap, it had been her parents continuously implying Regina hadn't changed because she was willing to go to extremes and didn't intend on sticking to some ridiculous, unwritten set of guidelines that defined a person as one of the 'Good Guys'.

Emma sighed. "Mom, stop looking at me like that."

A look of pure innocence overcame Snow's expression and Regina rolled her eyes, silently hoping Emma would freak out again, only this time directing it all at the insipid woman. "Like what, honey?"

"Like I just kicked your fucking puppy." Regina and Charming both winced while Snow chose to scold her in that annoying motherly tone of hers.

"Emma!"

Ignoring her, Emma pointed to Regina. "You, are coming up on deck to teach me how to do something that's actually useful with this stupid magic." She raised a hand to stop the dribble her mother was about to spout and when she was certain the gesture worked, she continued. "You two can do what you want, but _we_ are going to do whatever is necessary to save _our_ son. You can either accept it, or you can't – either way that _is _what's going to happen."

Regina moved to open the door and as soon as Emma had finished her little speech, she turned to her with a smile and felt the irritation from the past three days fade as she was taken by the hand and led out of the room. When they were about to pass by their cabin, Emma yelped as Regina tugged her by the arm and dragged her into the room. She opened her mouth to try to question it but before she could get a word out, Regina pinned her against the wall and suddenly she had a tongue in her mouth.

Regina could claim she had no idea what had come over her but it would be a lie. Knowing Emma stood up to her parents and seeing her do so were, apparently, two very different things. Combined with the protective anger she could feel radiating from the blonde at the time - Regina would never admit it to anyone other than herself - but it had turned her on.

Emma inhaled sharply as a hand slipped inside her jeans, beneath the waistband of her panties to cup her between the legs. Her gasp became a heady moan when a finger stroked through the folds of her pussy to tease her entrance, dipping inside briefly before tracing up along her slit to circle her clit.

"First lesson." Regina murmured against her lips. "Remove our clothes."

Breathing heavily, Emma shook her head to try to clear the fogginess of her brain and stared at Regina as if she was insane. "I thought I needed to focus?"

"Oh you do." Regina grinned as she entered her and began to slowly thrust in and out. "Consider this your distraction."

Emma groaned and closed her eyes, her head hitting the wall with a dull thud as she tried to concentrate on something other than what Regina was doing to her. It was at least five minutes before she could even feel her magic and by then, she was already shaking with the effort not to simply pick Regina up and throw her down on the bed _after _ripping the clothes from her body. When she tried to picture them without their clothing, a mouth latched on to her pulse and began sucking, shattering the image before it had fully surfaced.

Regina chuckled as Emma huffed her frustration. Having sensed the magic building within her, she had interfered on purpose and while it was still part of the lesson and would help to remind Emma that other things could crop up to steal her focus, Regina had - in all honesty - only done it to amuse herself. The second Emma had completed what she asked, Regina knew she'd lose the control she had in the moment and this was a way in which she would be able to keep it for a little while longer.

Squeezing the hips beneath her hands, Emma tried to block out any and all sensations that weren't connected to her magic, concentrating on the warmth flowing through her veins and ignoring the one that pooled in the pit of her stomach. She recalled the image of how Regina looked the first time she had seen her completely naked, each detail vivid in her mind as she willed her magic through the tips of fingers.

Regina moaned into Emma's neck as she felt the heat enter her body, the tingling at her waist sending her heart racing with anticipation as her arousal increased. Within seconds her clothes vanished and she could feel her nipples harden as they pressed against the coarse material of Emma's tank. She pushed herself up against Emma and thrust against her hand, forcing her fingers deeper while Emma grabbed and kneaded her arse as their lips met in another wet, messy and wildly mind-blowing kiss.

When Emma tried to move them towards their bed, she was stopped by a hand on her chest and the sudden loss of the fingers that had been pleasantly building her up to orgasm. At her disgruntled sound of protest, Regina shoved her back and she was trapped once again between the wall and the – now - deliciously naked body of the woman she loved.

Placing her hands on either side of Emma's head, Regina leaned in to brush her lips along Emma's jaw and husked into her ear. "I do believe I said you had to remove _our _clothes, dear."

Emma growled as she grabbed Regina by the thighs and hauled her off the ground, forcing her to wrap her legs around Emma's waist as she stepped away from the wall and walked them over to the bed. As soon as her knees met resistance, she lowered them down to the mattress and willed her own clothes gone.

Before she could do anything further, Regina's legs tightened around her and Emma moaned as her stomach met slick heat. She clasped her hand around the back of Emma's neck and pulled her down to where she could nip at soft, pale lips - grinding against the hard muscles of her abdomen as Emma captured her mouth. Their tongues playfully duelled while hands roamed each others flesh, nails marring more and more skin as the kiss became something else, something heated and wet.

When Emma slipped her hand between them and entered her, Regina gasped and threw out her hands. The sound of music that suddenly filled the room surprised them, causing their bodies to tense as their eyes were drawn to Emma's iPod. When Regina realised what she'd done, she was about to shut it off with a wave of her hand but Emma grabbed her by the wrist and shook her head.

"It's fitting, I think I'll make it my ringtone for you when we get back home."

Regina tilts her head, listening to the lyrics for a moment before she laughs softly. "I suppose it is." she glances down her body to Emma's hand between her legs before she lifts her gaze, eyebrow cocked as she asks, "Do you think we could continue now?"

Grinning, Emma eased her fingers as deep as possible then pulled out, beginning a slow rhythm as she relished the feeling of Regina's walls clinging to her, loving the sounds she coaxed from the brunette, even more so knowing she was the one that got to hear them and – assuming Fate had no other plans – would be the only one to ever hear them again. She believed Regina was her happy ending, that she was hers and when the time came, when this whole mess in Neverland was over – they could finally be the family they were always meant to be.

With the way Emma was looking at her, Regina could feel her heart swell inside her chest as she could see no more than pure love within the emerald depths. While it wasn't something she was used, she thought maybe that was a good thing because - maybe if she was the sort of person that received love from everyone as easily as she did from Emma, perhaps she wouldn't appreciate it as much in that moment.

Emma had hoped, prayed that Regina would see and when those beautiful brown eyes - that had always revealed so much - glazed over with unshed tears, Emma knew that she had and she could plainly see the love that was reflected back to her.

Regina arched from the bed as Emma sped up her thrusts. Closing her eyes to the feathery light kisses that were placed upon her flesh, she clung desperately to Emma's back as the brush of lips added to the heat that tore through her body. When a thumb pressed against her clit, her hand shot to the back of Emma's head and she fused their mouths together, moaning as her tongue was immediately sucked between lips.

As Regina's fight to control their kiss weakened, Emma knew she was getting close and further increased her pace. As much as she enjoyed the slow, tenderness of their love-making, she had learned quickly that Regina preferred it hard and fast near the end and Emma was nothing less than accommodating.

Regina cried out as Emma repeatedly flicked her clit, her fingers pumping in and out, driving her to the very edge. Throwing her head back as she came undone, her wetness coated Emma's fingers as she rode through her orgasm.

When Regina's breathing returned to normal, Emma removed her fingers, extracting herself from the thighs that finally loosened from around her waist before she fell to the mattress beside her. "What uh..." Emma stopped to chuckle at the memory of what had started this before she tried again. "What happened to our magic lessons?"

Regina shifted so she was pressed against Emma's side and slid a hand over her hip. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for that while we're on the island. This however.." she nipped at Emma's shoulder to indicate what the 'this' was before she continued. "We may not have another chance while we're running around, looking for our son and avoiding death at every turn."

"Mmm valid point." Emma rolled until she was atop the brunette once more. "Let's make sure we have plenty to remember during our venture into the unknown, shall we?"

* * *

They were on round three when someone knocked on their door, only opening to reveal a smirking Hook once they had dressed. True to form, his announcement – that they had arrived and everyone else waited on them - was delivered with his usual smarmy charm and disturbingly lecherous gaze before they each threw a pillow at him and told him to get out. Of course Emma was less polite and a little more colourful with her phrasing than Regina had been, but that wasn't important and she got her meaning across, clearly - if you removed a few of the words.

When Emma and Regina appeared on deck after Hook, Snow was the first to notice them and frowned. "I thought you two were having magic lessons."

Snickering like the juvenile that he was, Hook happily corrected her before either of them could think of anything to say. "The only magic that went on between them involved a bed and a lot of loud noises."

Regina sighed and rolled her eyes, swatting Hook as she passed. "You truly have a way with words, Killian."

Taking it a step further, Emma punched him in the arm on her way to the gangplank, helpfully providing a translation as she did so. "I think she meant stop being a sleazy dick."

Chuckling, Regina looked to Emma as she grabbed her hand and weaved their fingers together. "Ready, dear?"

With a reassuring squeeze, Emma gave a small smile and nod of her head. "Let's go save our son."

* * *

**Another Author Note: **As this is the end to their time aboard the Jolly Roger, so too is it the end for the story. I hope everyone enjoyed reading, at least more than I enjoyed writing this chapter. I hate endings.


End file.
